A. is a fish, commonly called NAHVAL. If anyone eats of this fish, he will die immediately. It has a tooth in the front part of its head standing out seven cubits. Divers have sold it as the Unicorn's horn. It is thought to be a good antidote and powerful medicine against poison. This monster is forty ells in length.
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emilyyang
(@emilyyang)
Sep 08 2024
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B. the Roider is a fish of one hundred and thirty ells in length, which has no teeth. The flesh of it is very good meat, wholesome and tasty. Its fat is good against many diseases.
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emilyyang
(@emilyyang)
Sep 08 2024
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C. The BURCHVALUR has a head bigger than its entire body. It has many very strong teeth, of which they make chess pieces [some editions say bricks]. It is 60 cubits long.
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emilyyang
(@emilyyang)
Sep 08 2024
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D. The Hyena or sea hog is a monstrous kind of fish about which you may read in the 21st book of Olaus Magnus.
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emilyyang
(@emilyyang)
Sep 08 2024
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E. Ziphius, a horrible sea monster that swallows a black seal in one bite.
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Exhibit ID:354
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Sea Monsters on the Ortelius Iceland Map
Exhibit Stories:
Sea Monsters on the Ortelius Iceland Map
[All content in this exhibit was created and provided by the Osher Map Library]
This map of Iceland was made by Abraham Ortelius, a mapmaker from the late 1500s. He was not an explorer or a scientist, so he used another mapmakers' information about sea monsters in order to make his map of Iceland. One of these mapmakers, Olaus Magnus was a man from Sweden who moved to Rome several decades before Abraham began making maps. Olaus wrote a book about Scandinavia, the region around Sweden, and described many of the sea monsters that Swedish people believed in.